It’s mildly ironic that given the current popularity of crews and clicks (Black Hippy, ASAP Mob, etc.), one of the strongest, most feared groups ever, G-Unit, is no longer in the discussion*. And never one to mince his words, head honcho 50 Cent appears on “Big Boy’s Neighborhood” once again, this time to deliver unfiltered words regarding his cronies Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo.

On Lloyd Banks and his (lack of) independence.

“I end up doing [his] job too…I been managing [him]. $9 million. I did that for him. The top of last year I’m saying [he] gotta find managers, gotta find other people to do that cus I gotta focus on other things, other projects I got going. I’m on a movie set, what you wanna call me and say yo I need to go do this. The guy’s calling me about a show while I’m on a movie set.”

On Tony Yayo’s work ethic.

“Yay has to do a lot more…He just doesn’t do what he’s supposed to do and then he just goes ‘whatever.’ He had the simple formula. He said, “These fools ain’t here cause of us. They here cause of 50.” He been saying that since the beginning.”

On which of the two he’d save from drowning in the ocean.

“I’d put Yayo on the boat.”

Bottom line, the man is right. If the people around you can’t hold their own weight, you have to cut them loose before they bring you down. Not saying that’s the situation yet, but it may very well be in the near future. Word of Banks’ ineptitude has been floating around his he lost his master copy of Rotten Appleduring a threesome (and admitted to it). And Yayo, well, he can’t outrap Eli Porter if his life depended on it, but he’s always been the one closest to Fif. The ship won’t move unless everyone’s on the same page, so realistically speaking, don’t hold your breath for a new G-Unit album. It’s probably not coming anytime soon.

Join The Discussion

I wonder how Banks and Yayo feel about 50 saying that shit about them on the radio…Even if it’s true, you ain’t gotta air them niggas out like that…at the same time, he did take responsibility for basically spoiling those niggas so I guess it’s all in how you interpret it. Banks career really went to shit after that album got leaked. He’s been putting out some mixtapes, but he ain’t been nowhere close to that PLK he was when he was first on them early mixtapes. Cold Corner 2 and V5 were dope to me though. Don’t even think I want a G-Unit album anyway. Doubt they can recapture the magic they used to have on them old Funk Flex freestyles.

Fif is my dude, What makes him unique is that he never dodges the question. I don’t think he threw them under the bus, I think that he still showed love. albeit tough love but that’s Fif. I digg it. I no longer download Banks, i’ll keep it a hundred. Too many mixtapes, No longer exciting without Fif. Yayo is Yayo.

What he’s saying about Banks should be obvious. Look at how big Beamer, Benz, or Bentley and to a smaller extent Start it Up (feat. Kanye & Swizz) was in 2010 how he had peoples attention in 2010 with Hunger For More 2 then now he’s disappeared.

If 50 could just let shit go.
The only way 50 Cent or G-Unit would ever get any type of serious buzz again would be if he made peace with Game and Buck. Can you imagine a G-Unit reunion album with the whole crew? Possible Dre behind the boards?
God damn, Game is still putting out cohesive albums that don’t fail to impress. I mean, I’m not really into his mixtape shit just bc there’s other things I wanna listen to but dude really knows how to put together albums.
As for Buck, 50 just let the guy be! Obviously, we don’t know the full scoop with what happened to Buck and Fif, but let the dude out of his contract at least! It’s seriously kicking a dude when he’s down. All of that BS aside – if 50 could just let shit go and assemble the team in the studio – Buck would come back hard as always. I truly haven’t listened to him since The Taped Conversation track but god damn can dude spit.
A G-Unit Reunion would be epic. It’s 50’s last opportunity to sell an album that has the potential to sell 500K+ first week. But, the bad blood that 50 refuses to let go won’t ever let this happen.
50 is a younger Jay-Z and should be respected but tracks like G’ed Up, How We Do, and G-Unit’s Hate It or Love It remix makes me wish he would put all the BS aside for the fans.

What would a reunion really do? Look at that Dipset reunion that never happened. Making peace with Game and Buck won’t really make any waves. Game is freestyling struggle bars over hot tracks and jumping lesser known rappers. Last thing I heard about Buck was his tax evasion. Fif can’t play babysitter to two other artists that aren’t really making moves.

Part of Fif’s legend was that he singlehandedly put his entire crew on, based on little more than his own hustle. He got deals for cats with no name or credentials of their own at a time when that was almost unheard of. And furthermore, he kept them afloat for years.

To now come out and basically sink cats that are already dogpaddling alone pretty much guarantees Curtis won’t be able to do anything like this again. As suspect as Jay was at developing acts while running Def Jam, who has Fif really developed beyond Lloyd?

Not that he needs the money or anything, but Fif’s future survival in the business isn’t as an artist but as an artist developer. Yet so far he’s taken a bat to every artist that’s ever had any bit of success under him—Game, Lloyd, Yayo, Olivia…

Not sure where Fif goes with this. Yayo’s his boy so any bad blood is koolaid given that Yayo has no career without Fif short of writing a tell-all of some sort.

I’ve always said Fif is the single best interview in hiphop and has been for 10 summers, but sometimes you gotta know when to hush.

This is exactly what I was speaking of in the Yelawolf post. Both Banks and Yayo are the type of artists who would have gotten screwed had it not been for 50.

Look, this is a business – Lyor Cohen, Jimmy Iovine, etc., are not going to do 10% of what Curtis has done for you. Calling 50 on set when he (Banks) should have people in place to answer those questions? They should realize how wonderful they have it. This (what they have experienced throughout their careers – real money being made, freedom, handholding) is not how the industry works. 50 has been more than good to them. And I see nothing wrong with what he is saying at all because they have made it that type of business/friendship/relationship themselves.

The sad thing is that if tomorrow… 50 decided he was no longer going to help them out… they would have no clue what to do. They can tour right now and make millions without having hits in years. Take 50 out of the equation and they would be broke – and all because they never learned what to do on their own. Had they done that, they could still continue on making music and money. But these two are the exact artists I was speaking of in that thread – they want everything done for them. That is when you get taken advantage of and wind up owing labels money.

I can predict exactly what will happen if 50 decides to no longer help.

Banks came to me once wanting more of a budget for something in particular. Publicly, he stated that he had millions, and that his music was so important, he would come out of his own pocket to make up for what the label failed to give financially. When I asked him to do it? He did not come close to putting his money where his mouth went in public.

50 coddled these men. Banks was young so I understand that partially. But he went too far with how giving he was to them.

At this point Fif needs a Gaga or his own Kendrick to stay musically relevant. I mean how embarassing is it that he had to pretend that 5 was just for free coz its his birthday? If that wasn’t a sure sign of his fall from grace I don’t know what is.

Regarding airing out both dudes, I think its a mixture of frustration in the whole group’s lack of recent success or buzz and anger at their ineptitude to stand on their own. Also, the family tree that was under Aftermath/Shady/Interscope has pretty much “Timbered” and he’s starting to feel the isolation. Em isn’t promoting him or mentioning him in any important sense anymore, Dre doesn’t like him(lets not pretend) and Jimmy aint all that interested in him as an artist coz he knows there wont be any major stacks to be made.

I think you’re right about the Game situation derailing G-Unit, but for the wrong reasons. Game was the biggest cash cow outside of 50 himself, and then 50 tried to sabotage his career. Do you really think Jimmy, Dre, Interscope, et. al were happy about that? Curtis didn’t flop (speaking relatively, 600k isn’t a flop) because it didn’t have hits; Ayo Technology could have been a huge smash. The label obviously didn’t promote the album as strongly as they had his others. They didn’t support BiSD at all. 50 burned his bridges with games because he was underneath him, but failed to realize the implications.

Fif’s one of my fave artists in the last 20 years. He’s not the businessman that Jay or Diddy are. But he’s made sure to keep his pockets lined while doing the type of music he wants to do. Not a pure businessman in that regard, but handled enough business to keep himself viable.

My only issue with Fif going in on artists he helped build up is he is vested in their success so taking a piece out of them publicly doesn’t seem to help his own cause. Sorta “damaged goods” if you will.

NIIIIIGGGGGAAAAA. Cassidy and Banks were really fucking niggas up with the punchline game back in 02/03. I always thought Banks was just a little bit slicker with his setups and delivery though. Cass would just hit you with so many punchlines, line after line it felt like this nigga was just gon rap forever.

Really? REALLY? That’s some severely unwarranted hyperbole IMO. “Feared” I get, at their peak they were a commercial and popular force in rap to be reckoned with, but strongest? Certainly not in a creative sense. Name me one classic G-Unit album. Maybe Fif’s first solo, but he didn’t really need the Unit for that one.

WU, NWA, Goodie Mob, Cypress Hill, Pharcyde, Slum Village, Beastie Boys, Public Enemy, Company Flow, even State Prop >>> G-Unit. That’s just off the top. G-Unit doesn’t even break the top 10 of strongest rap groups.

Its as simple as this: In this industry, your hustle is everything. You have to become a businessman as well as a consistent artist. You have to learn how to book your own shows, you have to hire a manager, there is a lot to do in this industry. They can’t expect 50 to manage their careers when he has to deal with his own as well. Yayo has to keep putting out music. Banks needs to stay consistent. Thats All 50 was saying. He’d save Yayo because he knows Yayo is nothing without Him. Plus, Yayo is literally his right hand man for life. banks can swim

what yall 50 cent praisers fail to mention is that when gunit was on top, 50 was busy separating himself from all the other big acts in hiphop. he was on some i dont need yall type shit not realizing that he might not need them now but he needs the collaborations later.
and then if anybody in gunit wanted to make songs with others, he was gonna shit on them too. so basically right now they being penalized for being loyal to 50. and then 50 turns around and makes records wit jayz diddy jadakiss. so if banks or buck tried to work wit them its like oh u was like fuck me when 50 said fuck me, now he said its cool so u holla at me? fuck outta here
he made them alienate the whole game and only rely on interscope, now they paying the price. and new album new target for 50, its everybody that was on his side he gonna diss now. crab ass nigga

To me 50 is know different then the rest of the artist in the music indusrty. Once they get to a certain level they don’t have time for anything else even if its his own people….I don’t care what’s going on you never turn your back on your boys bottomline. An you also don’t air there dirty laundry just because you feel you can. Regardless of anything you don’t do that. But he has shown that is is two faced as well..he goes back an fourth like that because its funny to him..